Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Thieves of Exploration
by Misteria Yang
Summary: Watch through the eyes of several characters as they experience things in this blissfully dark-toned world of Pokemon. (Slight InsanityShipping, be warned)
1. Prologue

Eee hee hee!

Yes, MY "stage" has been set.

I only wish I was not isolated in this eternal darkness...

...that I, the greatest criminal of all time, could tell my tale to -

_**you.**_

I'm so lonely... so lonely.

Ah! But you. I want you to hear my tale before I go.

Ahem! Shall we begin?

This is the story of the infamous Team BigBandits!

[flashback]

_"H-hey!"_

_A Chikorita looks upon me with concern as I open my eyes._

_I groan, realizing that I'm lying on sand. _

_Waves twist, bubbles dance in the light of the setting sun._

[end]

Yes, that was when I had a fateful encounter with Neon at Treasure Town's nearby beach.

_"Well, you don't seem like a bad Pokemon!"_

We teamed up and formed an exploration team at Wigglytuff's Guild, formally known as Team Freedom.

Those sweet memories have long since passed. I miss them. We went on countless adventures and saved the world twice. But while exploring Blizzard Island, Neon fell ill. And I, the worst friend of all time, did not take care of her and left her to die.

I'm so lonely... so lonely.

Ever since that accident while time traveling, I cannot think straight.

But... _**why me**_...?

Oh, but of course...

It is what made me...

...the greatest criminal of all time.

I'm so lonely... so lonely.

_Eee hee hee!_


	2. A Beginning

**A/N: I promise I'll polish this chapter up later, but for now please treat yourselves to this chapter. I'll get the next one up soon; I promise it'll be longer with action. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review!**

* * *

The frigid winds blew ceaselessly, making two Pokemon shiver as they lay in ambush for their chosen victim. They were in Crevice Cave, which was a bad place. "Tell me again," the bigger of the two Pokemon, a Totodile, muttered to its partner, "why are we wasting time here? This... this Pokemon we're going after, it's weak and provides little for us in Poke and items."

Her partner, a Mudkip, glared at her. The Mud Fish Pokemon's eyes were, as usual, full of madness. This Mudkip stood on her hind legs instead of the usual position that her species assumed- the four-legged position. "You never know, Snivy."

The Totodile knew it was best not to question her leader on anything, so she shook her head, and crouching behind Chaos the Mudkip, she kept watch for their victim.

The cold winds began to affect them, and they scavenged in their battered Treasure Bag for a pair of Heat Scarves, which trapped heat and warmed the entire body. Chaos had stolen these two items off another exploration team especially for Snivy and herself to use, due to the nature of their bodies, which couldn't generate enough warmth for them to function in cold places. No one else was to use them. And the two Pokemon also wore black bands around their eyes, resembling the masks that bandits wore.

"Ugh, this blizzard's getting harsh," Snivy complained again, looking up at the cold skies while she adjusted her Heat Scarf. Chaos also looked up at the skies, her expression suddenly becoming solemn as she thought of something that had happened long ago, and she shook her head to get rid of the bad memories. The Totodile glanced at her, but said nothing. Snivy knew all about her leader and friend. Chaos had saved the world not once, but twice, and was hailed as a hero in many parts of the world, along with her original partner, the first Pokemon she had met when she was lying unconscious on the beach near Treasure Town.

But the strange thing was that when Chaos was in the process of returning to the world as part of Dialga's thank-you of gratitude, she had an accident while she was being transferred through time and space to the very spot where she had met her old partner for the first time. That accident affected her mind in ways that made her unable to think straight and make the right decisions; shortly after her return, she had turned into a bad Pokemon- an outlaw that stole from exploration teams. It was a huge shock to the exploration teams that had looked up to Chaos and her partner; Officer Magenzone had trouble comprehending why the most famous Pokemon in the world had chosen the path of the outlaw.

However, Snivy had no idea what had happened to Chaos' old partner, the one that had saved the world with the now infamous Mudkip, and preferred to be spared the sadness that would probably ensue if Chaos were to ever tell the tale to the Totodile.

Chaos shuddered. It was probably not because of the cold. "Never mind, Snivy, we're going to go back..."

Snivy shot her a glance as she stood up from her perch behind the rock, stretching her back. "Alright." She approached Chaos and stood by her side as Chaos fumbled with something in the Treasure Bag, which hung on her shoulder, finally pulling the Exploration Badge out. The Mudkip's mouth curved into a wide smile that was full of startingly white teeth. That and the fact that Chaos had blue eyes that held madness; it made Snivy's insides churn with fear whenever the Mudkip caught the Totodile unawares. Even though Snivy had been exploring with this hero-turned-outlaw for a number of years, she was still trying to get herself used to Chaos' odd smiles.

It was Snivy's turn to shudder with her teeth slightly bared in a frown as she put a hand on the Exploration Badge, which Chaos held out in front of her. The Badge would send them back to their exploration base/home combo in order to avoid being seen by the general citizens of Treasure Town. Magnezone had put out a large reward for the capture of Chaos; Snivy was determined to prevent Magnezone from arresting them and their team of bandits, who always came at their call and did as they were told to do.

A shining beam engulfed them and made their surroundings disappear as they were transported back to their base.


	3. Battles and Troubles

**August 18**

* * *

It was night, but the leaders of Team BigBandits were battling on the beach nearby Treasure Town, even though they knew it was risky to come here, due to the possible arrests that Magnezone might make if he saw them anywhere remotely near the small town. They were trying to improve upon their strengths and weaknesses; leaves were trampled underfoot in the crisp, cool night as the two Pokemon turned around and faced each other, grinning.

"So are you ready?" Snivy asked, her red eyes bright with the light of battle as she restlessly thumped her tail on the sand, creating a series of loud thumps. It was somewhat childlike, the light in her eyes.

"_Eee hee hee, yes!_" Chaos laughed. It was a chilling sound to any unfortunate Pokemon that happened to be in the same area as this Mudkip was (provided that they weren't knocked out when they heard it), but not to Snivy, who had heard it often. "Ready? Then let's go!"

With that said, Chaos, having gotten on all fours to increase speed, ran toward Snivy, who opened her mouth to reveal a glowing white orb cradled within it. Chaos recognized the move as HyperBeam; she altered her course by a few inches to the right, sending sand everywhere in the process and ensuring that the move missed her.

A bright white ray emitted from Snivy's mouth, but its intended target was not in its path any longer. Instead, as the ray hit the surrounding rocks that the Krabby usually blew bubbles on, there was an explosion that cracked some of the large rocks into pieces, resulting in dark gray smoke that rose everywhere. It was spectacular to watch.

While Snivy was frozen, restoring power after the massive amount it had taken to generate a HyperBeam, Chaos made the decision to use Tackle on her, ignoring the heavy smoke that seemed to be coming closer in all directions toward them. Speed increasing, the Mudkip rammed into Snivy, sending the blue crocodile flying over and into the moonlit ocean to their right.

There was a splash and a gasp, then Snivy's head rose above the water, coughing water that she had inhaled by mistake. "Chaos! Don't you remember how risky it is to tackle me while I'm frozen? I can't do anything while I'm frozen!" she exclaimed as she swam to the shore and got out of the water, shivering and then succumbing to the cold. "I could have drowned!"

"Relax, you know how to swim," Chaos said. She had backed away as Sniy made a splash, avoiding the large droplets of water and the smoke that was gradually dissolving. The Mudkip had reason to fear water in all forms, except when it was raining; she liked that. "It's not like I wanted to kill you or anything, Snivy." Her eyes, which usually showed the madness that was slowly devouring her mind, were anything but insane.

"Gah, I know," said Snivy, trying her best to run to their Treasure Bag, which had been lying beside them the whole time, but not succeeding because of the cold; it had affected her blood and restricted it from flowing. She was a cold-blooded Pokemon, which meant she needed heat to move, and she certainly couldn't generate it on her own without the sun or the Heat Scarf, which was in the Bag. "I can't move." The crocodile blinked, frozen into a ridiculous position. It reminded Chaos of the Monster Houses that she and Snivy occasionally triggered in various dungeons when they made a move in the wrong direction; she sometimes used an item orb to freeze the wild Pokemon while Snivy and the team plowed through the "house", gaining treasures and Experience Points.

Chaos shook her head as she ran to the Bag and looked inside it, digging through it for the item that Snivy needed. "Seriously, Snivy, keep the Heat Scarf with you; it'll help you a lot. This is a problem for our team- we can't afford to get you arrested because of this, not at all. We can't lose _you._" On the last word, she sounded worried.

As she found the right item and walked over to Snivy to give her the item, Snivy eyed her with concern but said nothing, as usual, and wrapped her Heat Scarf around her neck on top of the Exploration Scarf. The Totodile didn't want to ask her what bothered her in case it made her sad; if Chaos was sad, she was sad. That and she didn't want to make Chaos' mind any worser than it was already.

"Thanks, Chaos," Snivy said, beginning to move again with the heat that seeped into her through the Heat Scarf, warming her. It was like a comfy blanket.

"You're welcome," was all Chaos said as she stood up on her hind legs once more; some melancholy thought had struck her, forcing her to try to think rationally.

"...What's wrong?"

"I don't want to kill you; I almost did back there," Chaos muttered, not giving any more explanation as she got their Bag and put it around her shoulder, walking away from the beach with Snivy following her behind. "Besides, it's late."

Snivy was confused; this was not usual behavior for the infamous criminal, but she didn't press any further questions to her after that.

As they neared Crystal Cave, its crystals reflecting the moonlight back at them, they could see that it was full of Pokemon. "I told them to go home," Snivy grumbled as they walked into the massive labyrinth of ceiling-high crystals. After some minutes navigating the long hallways and mazes, they entered a large clearing full of Pokemon that weren't certainly of the normal kind of wild Pokemon encountered in this dungeon.

"Hey, Chaos," a small Bagon whispered conversationally as soon as the Pokemon saw the leaders enter, realizing too late that both Snivy and Chaos seemed unhappy about something. "Shut up, Spike," another Pokemon, a Squirtle, hissed at the Bagon, who put his hands to his mouth as though he had uttered a foul word. The rest of the team (a Hitmonlee, a Torchic, a Piplup, and a Dewott) stared at Chaos, expecting her to say something.

"I thought we told you to go home," Snivy grumbled instead, the beginnings of a snarl embedded within her voice. "We don't have enough room to let you sleep here, certainly not!"

The team looked taken aback at the lack of comment from Chaos, but nodded obediently, filing past the two leaders out of the cave.

"Snivy, thanks," Chaos chortled, seeming a little amused at the tone that Snivy had used to get the team out of the cave. The Mudkip yawned as her eyes alighted on her bed. "Sleep, sleep, sleep," Chaos murmured as she went over and curled up on her bed, closing her eyes.

Snivy nodded, even though the Mudkip didn't see that, and said, going to her own bed, "Good night."


	4. Forest of Unease: Part 1

**A/N: Guys, I'm so sorry for the long delay in writing this chapter, so I made this longer than the previous chapter. But... Be honest, is this too dark?**

* * *

**August 19**

* * *

It was a hot day.

And a plump Rattata was sitting in the shade of an enormous tree near a small pool, trying to turn its focus to the Apple it had stolen from an unattended Treasure Bag that looked like it had been around the world a few times, patched and looking woebegone. But the rat Pokemon couldn't focus for some odd reason.

_Crunch._ A tentative bite.

Another bite. _Crunch. Crunch._

The Rattata was crunching on its prize now, savoring the juicy, sweet flavor that seeped out of the Apple. The owner of the Treasure Bag probably wouldn't mind it if the rat took some more Apples away for its benefit, since it had heard that exploration teams were usually kind to starving Pokemon, so proceeding, the Pokemon walked toward the Treasure Bag and began to sift through its contents, carelessly throwing out stuff as it did.

_Thud! Thud! Thud!_

Among the items, mostly Seeds and unopened Treasure Boxes, there were a few perfect Apples, shiny and clean – they were calling to the Rattata to eat them. And it took them greedily and raced back to its place under the tree, crunching on them.

The Rattata felt confident and clever, so clever enough to have stolen from the Treasure Bag without anyone seeing it.

So clever. So confident.

It was so focused on devouring its stolen prizes like there was no tomorrow that it didn't even hear or feel the thief approaching it from behind. Not at all.

A brief struggle ensued with the Rattata striking out at its attacker in vain; the thief, Snivy, proved too much for the rat to handle, and finally after several minutes with limbs flailing about, it gave up, its throat held by Snivy the Totodile.

"You thought you could steal from us. Ah, the irony." A simple statement.

"I-I had no idea it belonged to y-you... Please let me go..." A small squeak. The Rattata looked pitiful in spite of its plump appearance, but this didn't move Snivy in the slightest.

Those deep red eyes in the black hue that was Snivy's mask stared at the Pokemon, cold and cunning. It was the stare of the predator that knows it has its prey cornered, and this knowledge sent a cold chill through the Rattata; it made its heart beat rapidly.

Snivy appeared to enjoy the reaction, this fact made evident by a small chuckle.

"Unfortunately, you can't return to us the items that you decided to consume without giving thought to the Pokemon that needed these items, myself included," Snivy said delicately in a matter-of-fact tone, not bothering to relax her grasp on the Rattata's throat, much to its panic. "Therefore action is needed to teach you a lesson about messing around with an unattended Treasure Bag... Let's see... Ah. Perhaps this may do you well?"

Snivy had carried the rat to the edge of the pool, and now the Totodile stood in thought, surveying the clear water that was ruffled slightly under the winds.

It was a beautiful day, clear and peaceful.

And the thief sighed unexpectedly. "It's a beautiful day, but it's a shame that of all days to get in trouble, you just had to choose this day to land a deal with trouble. Isn't it?"

Its throat still constricted by the hand that belonged to the thief, the Rattata said nothing. It only stared in increasing panic, some part of it dimly beginning to realize that it, for all its wits and power, wouldn't live to see another day ever again.

And as it reached that conclusion, Snivy plunged the Rattata into the watery depths of the pool, allowing the seaweeds to claim their victim.

"Have fun!"

Bubbles emanated from within the pool as the rat, thrown into even greater panic than before, wildly struggled and fought against the seaweeds that seemed to be like death's cold, slimy grasp upon it. Snivy eyed this with mild interest, noting how the victim seemed not to realize that the only way to get out of the seaweeds' grasp was to either chew through them or use a move to succeed.

Ah, victims. They _never_ seemed to be able to think clearly.

It was amusement to the thief. Well, it was twisted, but still amusing to watch.

She _was_ the predator; the rat was the prey, and the moment its movements ceased, she would claim the cadaver as _her _meal, even though it was likely to be very tense (because of all the adrenaline going through its system up until the moment of total death) and soggy.

It was at this moment that Snivy's leader and a few of their cohorts came into the clearing, no doubt attracted by the noises; Snivy seemed to have expected their appearance, and as such, did not hasten to block what was going on within the pool from their view as they already knew that Snivy had tendencies to hunt other Pokemon, although they did not know what amusement it provided for Snivy to watch her victims drown in their own panic.

"Hey, Chaos," Snivy said, her voice weirdly calm in spite of what she had just put her prey through. "Looks like it's going to be a good day. Especially with this Rattata meal."

The Mudkip shot a glance at the pool, but said nothing even though she could clearly see the Rattata still thrashing around, albeit a little weaker with every passing minute. The Rattata wasn't one of their own, so she saw it as just an unlucky Pokemon that had gotten into Snivy's hands.

"Yeah," Chaos said, skirting the pool's edge as she went to the Treasure Bag and picked it up, not caring that most of its content had been thrown out by the rat. "So this is where we left it... Hey, it's empty. No matter, we can steal stuff from the Pokemon around here!" She was grinning, which seemed strange. But then again, she was insane.

The other cohorts weren't as carefree as Chaos and Snivy, and they looked apprehensive as they watched the Rattata's feeble attempts to free itself.

"...Don't you think this is a little too far, Snivy? Life is life, after all," Piplup, donning the usual mask that the team wore during the day, said. "I mean... Look at it."

Spike nodded.

"We're all the same. We die eventually," was the empty reply that Snivy chose to generate.

Just then, a final bubble burst on the surface of the pool, and the flurry of activity stopped at last.

Slightly chilled by the Totodile's reply, Piplup glanced over at the pool and its victim. The Rattata's body had relaxed in its last minutes, and now it was down at the bottom, its eyes open in death, blind to the fact that someone up on the surface cared about its demise.

"I'm sorry," Piplup whispered.

"Ah!" Snivy smiled as she peered over the surface. "So it's ready. Move over, dear Piplup. You may feel sorry for this creature, but for me, it's food. _Food._"

Piplup stepped aside to let the predator dive into the pool headfirst.

Just then, Spike approached Piplup. The dragon Pokemon said nothing, just standing by her side.

Chaos, while avoiding the pool and the splash that Snivy had made, lugged her Bag and made sure she was at a safe distance from the pool. "As soon as Snivy's done... with what she's doing... we're going to carry on as usual!" she announced. "Don't let the Treasure Bag disappear again, though!"

There were gentle murmurs.

"Doesn't she realize that she just let a death happen...?"

"She could've stopped it! Stopped Snivy from making it happen!"

"But, guys... that's... unavoidable..."

Snivy finally emerged from the pool with her prey in her jaws and swam to the edge and got out, depositing the prey in front of everyone.

"I heard you guys," she murmured. "I just like eating Pokemon, okay?"

As if to make that statement even more true, she picked up the cadaver again and this time, she didn't bother to chew it properly – she snapped it up in her snout with a weird jerk of the head. With a crunch, the Rattata was gone, save for bits of purple fur that floated down to the ground gently, the only thing that remained of the rat that, just a little while ago, had been innocently eating Apples.

"That hit the spot, though it could've done with a little bit of salt. It was kind enough to let me play my game with it," Snivy sighed, and turned toward Chaos and the others. "So, what are we doing?"

"As I was saying, Snivy, we're going to steal stuff!" Chaos said. "Alright, guys, as soon as we get to the middle of this forest, where there are a lot of wild Pokemon, we're going to attack them and get their items!"

"Yeah!" Spike yelled.

"We're going to own them!" Oscar yelled, finally coming into view; due to his short legs, he had lagged behind the team, but had finally caught up with them. "Steal! Steal!"

Snivy nodded.

And the insane leader smiled.


End file.
